Idina Menzel DVD releases today; concert tour this summer
Tue. March 6, 2012 10:07 AM by GoPride.com News Staff
live: barefoot at the symphony
Tony Award-winning Broadway star of Wicked and Rent, and hit television show Glee releases "Idina Menzel Live: Barefoot at the Symphony"
Chicago, IL -
Through a diverse career on the stage, in film and television, and in music, Broadway star, Idina Menzel, best known for her work in the Broadway musical and film adaption of "Rent", her Tony Award-winning performance as Elphaba, the green-faced Wicked Witch of the West in "Wicked", and her recurring role in the hit TV series "Glee", has spent much of the past two years crisscrossing the country, headlining concerts with world-renowned symphony orchestras.
This past November, on Menzel's 2011 tour itinerary, the star recorded her PBS special "Idina Menzel Live: Barefoot at the Symphony." Today, the DVD and accompanying album was released.
The TV special, DVD, and the album, were captured in Toronto at Koerner Hall, a beautifully modernist, acoustically blessed space literally carved out of the city's historic Royal Conservatory of Music headquarters. Menzel performs with the 52-piece Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, one of Canada's premiere symphony orchestras, under the direction of legendary conductor Marvin Hamlisch and her equally accomplished music director and pianist, Rob Mounsey, who has worked with everyone from Paul Simon and Steely Dan to Madonna, Usher and Rihanna.
Watch Idina Menzel - "Defying Gravity"
From "LIVE: Barefoot at the Symphony"
Though Menzel's symphony concerts have attracted sellout crowds and earned consistent critical praise, she was hesitant about the idea at first. "I've toured a lot in my life with different bands and different styles of music, but I stayed away from orchestras and symphonies for a long time, because I like to have a real intimacy with the audience, and I was afraid these big orchestras would usurp my ability to do that. But then I discovered that there's a way to work with 80 musicians and make it feel like we've all known each other for years. I'm still able to explore my edgier side with songs like ‘Roxanne,' but do it with an orchestra, which is really thrilling."
Menzel opens the set with "Life of the Party," written by Andrew Lippa for his 2000 off-Broadway musical The Wild Party, which costarred Menzel and her husband, Taye Diggs. It was Menzel who came up with the clever idea of combining Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" with Sting's "Roxanne." From Rent, the landmark musical that not only provided Menzel with her big professional break but also introduced her to Diggs, she chooses "No Day But Today."
Watch Idina Menzel - "Tomorrow"
From "LIVE: Barefoot at the Symphony"
Between Broadway numbers, Menzel slips in Jimmy Webb's "Asleep On the Wind" (recorded by Webb in 1974 for his album Land's End). Other standouts include Lady Gaga's "Poker Face," which she performed with Lea Michele on Glee and charged Mounsey with the challenge of coming up with a big, orchestral arrangement for it. Mounsey also came up with a playful rendition of Rodgers and Hart's "Where or When," featuring a special guest, husband Taye Diggs. Making the guest appearance was, she says, "entirely his idea. Once we're on stage together it's the real deal and we have great fun."
Upcoming North American tour dates:
June 1, Vancouver, The Center in Vancouver for Performing Arts
June 2, Seattle, The Paramount Theater
June 3, Portland, Keller Auditorium
June 5, Modesto, CA, Gallo Center for the Arts
June 7, San Francisco, Davies Symphony Hall
June 9, Santa Rosa, Wells Fargo Center for the Arts
June 10, Las Vegas, Reynolds Hall at the Smith Center
June 12, San Antonio, Majestic Theater
June 13, Dallas, Music Hall at Fair Park
June 14, Austin, Dell Foundation Hall at the Long Center for the Performing Arts
June 16, Nashville, The Woods Amphitheater at Fontanel
June 17, St. Louis, Peabody Opera House
June 19, Kansas City, The Midland by AMC
June 20, Milwaukee, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
June 22, Des Moines, Civic Center
June 23, Columbus, Bi-Centennial Stage at the Columbus Commons Stage
June 24, Indianapolis, Clowes Memorial Hall
June 26, Midland, MI, Midland Center for the Arts
June 27, Detroit, Detroit Opera House
June 29, Richmond, VA, Carpenter Theater
June 30, Philadelphia, Mann Center
July 7, Minneapolis, Orpheum Theater
July 8, Chicago, Ravinia
Aug 3, Washington DC, Wolf Trap
Oct 29, New York, Carnegie Hall
Related: 2008 ChicagoPride.com interview with Idina Menzel
Watch Idina Menzel - Lady Gaga's "Poker Face"
From "LIVE: Barefoot at the Symphony"
This past November, on Menzel's 2011 tour itinerary, the star recorded her PBS special "Idina Menzel Live: Barefoot at the Symphony." Today, the DVD and accompanying album was released.
The TV special, DVD, and the album, were captured in Toronto at Koerner Hall, a beautifully modernist, acoustically blessed space literally carved out of the city's historic Royal Conservatory of Music headquarters. Menzel performs with the 52-piece Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, one of Canada's premiere symphony orchestras, under the direction of legendary conductor Marvin Hamlisch and her equally accomplished music director and pianist, Rob Mounsey, who has worked with everyone from Paul Simon and Steely Dan to Madonna, Usher and Rihanna.
Watch Idina Menzel - "Defying Gravity"
From "LIVE: Barefoot at the Symphony"
Though Menzel's symphony concerts have attracted sellout crowds and earned consistent critical praise, she was hesitant about the idea at first. "I've toured a lot in my life with different bands and different styles of music, but I stayed away from orchestras and symphonies for a long time, because I like to have a real intimacy with the audience, and I was afraid these big orchestras would usurp my ability to do that. But then I discovered that there's a way to work with 80 musicians and make it feel like we've all known each other for years. I'm still able to explore my edgier side with songs like ‘Roxanne,' but do it with an orchestra, which is really thrilling."
Menzel opens the set with "Life of the Party," written by Andrew Lippa for his 2000 off-Broadway musical The Wild Party, which costarred Menzel and her husband, Taye Diggs. It was Menzel who came up with the clever idea of combining Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" with Sting's "Roxanne." From Rent, the landmark musical that not only provided Menzel with her big professional break but also introduced her to Diggs, she chooses "No Day But Today."
Watch Idina Menzel - "Tomorrow"
From "LIVE: Barefoot at the Symphony"
Between Broadway numbers, Menzel slips in Jimmy Webb's "Asleep On the Wind" (recorded by Webb in 1974 for his album Land's End). Other standouts include Lady Gaga's "Poker Face," which she performed with Lea Michele on Glee and charged Mounsey with the challenge of coming up with a big, orchestral arrangement for it. Mounsey also came up with a playful rendition of Rodgers and Hart's "Where or When," featuring a special guest, husband Taye Diggs. Making the guest appearance was, she says, "entirely his idea. Once we're on stage together it's the real deal and we have great fun."
Upcoming North American tour dates:
June 1, Vancouver, The Center in Vancouver for Performing Arts
June 2, Seattle, The Paramount Theater
June 3, Portland, Keller Auditorium
June 5, Modesto, CA, Gallo Center for the Arts
June 7, San Francisco, Davies Symphony Hall
June 9, Santa Rosa, Wells Fargo Center for the Arts
June 10, Las Vegas, Reynolds Hall at the Smith Center
June 12, San Antonio, Majestic Theater
June 13, Dallas, Music Hall at Fair Park
June 14, Austin, Dell Foundation Hall at the Long Center for the Performing Arts
June 16, Nashville, The Woods Amphitheater at Fontanel
June 17, St. Louis, Peabody Opera House
June 19, Kansas City, The Midland by AMC
June 20, Milwaukee, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
June 22, Des Moines, Civic Center
June 23, Columbus, Bi-Centennial Stage at the Columbus Commons Stage
June 24, Indianapolis, Clowes Memorial Hall
June 26, Midland, MI, Midland Center for the Arts
June 27, Detroit, Detroit Opera House
June 29, Richmond, VA, Carpenter Theater
June 30, Philadelphia, Mann Center
July 7, Minneapolis, Orpheum Theater
July 8, Chicago, Ravinia
Aug 3, Washington DC, Wolf Trap
Oct 29, New York, Carnegie Hall
Related: 2008 ChicagoPride.com interview with Idina Menzel
Watch Idina Menzel - Lady Gaga's "Poker Face"
From "LIVE: Barefoot at the Symphony"